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Last year, metro Detroit hotel occupancy reached its highest rate in at least a dozen years — 63 percent — capping four years of progress on hotel check-ins.

Industry experts and the region's hotels say occupancy rates are still heading upward, propelled by a resurgence in business travel by individuals and corporate meetings.

In addition, increased meeting and convention business is bringing in crowds for events.

"When we look at the increase in the occupancy, ... we were one of the top (markets) in the country" with 6 percent growth last year, said Larry Alexander, chairman of the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority and president of the Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Charles Skelton

Detroit is running at about the same occupancy rate as Chicago and a leader among Midwestern Rust Belt cities, including Indianapolis and Cleveland, said Charles Skelton, an Ann Arbor-based hospitality consultant.

"Detroit used to lag by 10 occupancy points," Skelton said. "Now it's right up there with them."

Occupancy rates for hotels and motels in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties reached 63.1 percent in 2013, up from 61.9 percent the year before, according to the Convention & Visitors Bureau. That compares with 47.5 percent in 2009 and 55.3 percent in 2008, before the recession.

Average daily rates for area hotels are also rebounding. Last year, hotels commanded an average daily rate of $84, up from $79.51 in 2012 but still trailing the $86.81 average in 2008, the bureau said. Those numbers are based on data reported by 279 hotels and motels with 35 or more guest rooms.

Big conferences

Larry Alexander

The increasing number of large conventions and conferences coming to Detroit is a big factor in the rising occupancy rates, Alexander said.

Among the factors attracting the events are the $279 million renovation and expansion underway at Cobo Center, efforts to rebuild downtown and riverfront improvements, he said.

Last year, the Convention & Visitors Bureau had five large groups booked. This year it has 13, Alexander said.

"And moving ahead to '14, '15 and '16, we're seeing the trend is for more of those types of groups to come into our destination," he said.

Among the events set for 2014 is the Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses International District Assembly, with two meetings scheduled in Detroit: June 6-8 and July 24-27. Those two meetings are expected to bring a total of 90,000 people to the region and a projected $57 million in economic impact, Alexander said during the Convention & Visitors Bureau's annual meeting in January.

Also this year, the Automotive Service Association plans to bring its conference and expo to Detroit for the first time July 31-Aug. 2, and the Society of Manufacturing Engineers' trade show and conference will return in June after a hiatus of several years.

Conferences of such magnitude spread demand beyond downtown. Only about 4,700 of the 40,000 rooms in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties are in downtown Detroit, Alexander said.

Business travel is back

Jay Haratsis

An increase in individual business travel and more corporate meetings are also playing a role in the occupancy gains, hotels said.

The Royal Park Hotel in Rochester expects to have its strongest first quarter ever, with an increase of 12 percent over the same quarter last year, said General Manager Jay Haratsis. That's coming off a 15 percent increase in occupancy in 2013, he said.

Playing a large role in that increase are the corporate meetings booked for the Royal Park's 20,000 square feet of meeting space.

So far during the first quarter, corporate meetings have increased 10 percent to 12 percent, following increased bookings last year for seminars, training and board meetings largely by companies in the education, banking, automotive and medical sectors, Haratsis said.

At the Westin Book Cadillac Detroit, occupancy has risen every year since its 2008 opening.

"The economy is getting better," he said. "Companies are trying to gather all their people in one spot so they can celebrate their success and talk about how they can continue succeeding."

Business travel and more international travelers are also boosting occupancy, Haratsis said.

The Westin Book CadillacDetroit has seen its average daily occupancy increase every year since its 2008 opening, said Scott Stinebaugh, director of sales and marketing.

"We have projections that 2014 will top 2013," Stinebaugh said. "As Detroit is on an upswing, hospitality is as well."

The Book Cadillac is seeing greater demand across all segments: group, business and leisure travelers, he said.

Scott Stinebaugh

Occupancy rates were up 13 percent in 2013, and the hotel had a strong January, Stinebaugh said. February and March were softer than expected, but the hotel is pacing about 40 percent ahead of bookings a year earlier for the second and third quarters of this year.

Where companies may have brought in about 100 people five years ago to gather in the Book Cadillac's 30,000 square feet of meeting space, now they're bringing 50-70, Stinebaugh said. But the hotel is making that up in a much larger volume of small meetings of 15-50 people — the area in which it has seen the largest increase over the past two years, Stinebaugh said.

Among them are meetings tied to the city of Detroit's bankruptcy.

Future bookings

Ron Wilson

Troy-based Hotel Investment Services Inc. is seeing increases of 6 percent to 11 percent year over year in corporate and social meetings at the hotels it manages in Michigan, from Mackinac Island to metro Detroit, CEO Ron Wilson said. Among them is the Inn at St. John's in Plymouth, which saw similar increases last year in meetings and group business.

The improved fortunes of the Detroit automakers "has a great ripple effect through the rest of the community," Wilson said.

"It's not that all the Detroit hoteliers are at capacity — and fat and happy all the way to the bank," he said. "There's significant room for improvement, but we're heading in that direction."

The growth in demand and occupancy probably will continue over the next few years, Skelton predicts.

"I think it's going to be driven by ... the auto industry finally getting healthy and casinos being around long enough that their reach might (extend) outside of Detroit."